Loves Knows No Bounds
by writinggurl101
Summary: When single mom Emma Aldaine moves back to her familiar city of Chicago to escape a bad breakup and a haunting past, she plans on everything to be normal. To pull through in being a firefighter and mom without a man. But then she meets Kelly Severide, her lieutenant. Kelly falls for the wonderful woman and mother but will he give up the life of a bachelor for her? Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Emma Aldaine drove through the familiar Chicago streets, although today she wouldn't be doing her regular routine of going to the Northern Chicago firehouse 26. Today she was going to the firehouse 51, and had a place on the squad team saved for her.

The move back happened somewhat suddenly, but she was going to be closer to her parents and family again. Moving away was the hardest, but now she was walking around in the city she grew up in. She needed to get away from her old life. The constant effort of dragging herself through another day. It was the fact that her fiancee was actually sleeping with her best friend, and the best friend's boyfriend was making moves towards Emma. It was all very screwed up in Emma's eyes. What kind of people were they?

She forced those thoughts out of her head as she pulled up to the large building and got out, grabbing her bag of things from the back and slinging it over her shoulder. She walked through the brisk fall air, the slight wind blowing back her long wavy brown hair. She brushed her bangs from her eyes, forcing them over to one side again. She walked into the open garage and found about five men sitting around a table. Some had coffee, others were reading the morning paper, and a few were playing cards.

She cleared her throat awkwardly as they all turned to look at her. "Sorry, but I was wondering if any of you could point me in the direction of Chief Boden?" she asked and one burly man with curly black hair and mustache smiled.

"I can point you in the direction of a lot of things," he started and Emma felt embarrassment welling up inside her stomach.

"Give her a break Otis," one of the older men said, shoving Otis in the shoulder. "Right through that door sweetie, end of the hall, can't miss it." he said kindly with a smile and Emma returned it.

"Thank you," she said, nodding before going through the said door. She heard the man and Otis whispering in harsh tones behind her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What? She's hot!"

"You're such an idiot...I don't even know what to say..."

She smiled to herself while walking down the hall, hearing the door close. She looked over her shoulder, still slightly amused before turning around just in time to bump into someone.

"Oh," she said as she looked up into the blue eyes of a tall man, who looked down into her emerald ones. "Sorry," she said as he shook his head, almost like he was waking himself up.

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it." he said as she laughed a bit.

"I wasn't looking so I'll take the blame, but I'll see you." she smiled, walking around the guy with a giddy feeling inside her.

Kelly Severide watched her walk past him, wondering where the stunning girl had come from. But she disappeared into the Chief's office, who looked out the door for a moment and caught Kelly's gaze. Feeling uncomfortable, he looked away and walked down the hall towards the lounge area.

"Did you see her though?" asked Rodriguez who was on the truck team. "Man! The girl was hotter than the flames we put out, Jesus.." he shook his head, dazed. "Did you see her Kelly?" he asked looking to his friend.

"Yeah, actually bumped into her in the hall." he said, going to the fridge and retrieving a mug which he started to fill with coffee.

"What? Did you talk to her?" asked Marks who was a buddy of Rodriguez.

"Yeah, I did. Instead of sitting here and wishing I talked to her like you guys," smirked Kelly as the other two rolled their eyes and turned away sheepishly.

Casey entered with Dawson and they were talking about whether or not to keep some of the first aid equipment on the truck just in case the ambulance was delayed for some reason. Shay followed in with her medical bag as did Lopez.

Mills was behind the stove, cooking up some breakfast hurriedly.

More people filed in, and Kelly was talking with the members of his team when Chief Boden walked in with the girl at his side. She had changed from her street clothes into her navy blue cargo pants, boots, and grey t-shirt which was required as the uniform of the firehouse.

"Fifty one," Chief called everyone to attention as they all turned and looked. "As you know we recently made the transfer of Stevens up to twenty six, and in return we've been given the valuable asset of miss Emma Aldaine. I've known this girl since she was in diapers." he said and Emma laughed quietly, tucking hair behind her ear embarrassed as Chief smirked and chuckles circulated around the room. "Her father is one of my oldest friends, so you will all treat her like your own," he began but saw the way Rodriguez was eyeing Emma. "sister." he finished as Rodriguez looked over and swallowed heavily. Even Kelly had to admit she pulled off the drab uniform really well. "She'll be joining Lieutenant Severide on the squad, any words Emma?" he asked, looking over to her as she looked around.

"Oh well, I just hope that I get to know you guys as well as I can, and I'm sure we'll all be good friends," she smiled.

"Oh we'll be more than good friends," Otis muttered but Kelly then hit his shoulder, shutting him up. Emma went on,

"I grew up here and it feels good to be back, I did two years on the squad at twenty six and I hope I'll be able to be the best that I can for you guys here." she said with a nod and finished her piece.

"All right! Back to your conversations," he said and before leaving he took Emma aside and muttered something to her, which she laughed at and nodded before he walked away.

She was invited into conversation by Dawson and Shay and Kelly watched as Emma talked easily with them. She circulated around the room, meeting Casey and the truck crew and then made her way over to the squad area.

"Lieutenant Severide," she said as they shook hands. Kelly felt that they were soft, but cold.

"Please," he said wishing his last name was a little less stupid sounding, "call me Kelly." he almost asked and she nodded with a smile.

"Okay then Kelly," she said. "It's good to put a face to a name. Sorry again, about that." she said with an embarrassed grin.

Kelly thought it was cute how persistent she was on apologizing but waved a hand. "I already said, it's fine. I'll let you take the blame if it makes you feel better," they both laughed. "but it's fine either way." he said and she nodded.

"Good, well I hope I can meet your expectations." she said and he smirked.

"I guess we'll find out today when we do our drills." he was eager to see how she would do against him and his other members.

She smirked back, clearly just as anticipated about the challenge. "Yeah, I guess we will." she said. "Better watch out," she said and he raised his brows.

"Really?"

"Yep." she confirmed as he nodded sceptically.

"Well I will," he assured as the intercom came through.

"1021 Wilshire Rd, report of smoke billowing out of a lower story house. Believed to be the tenant's suite. Ambulance 61, truck 81, squad 3," people were already rushing to get their gear and get to their desired vehicles.

Emma was handed some gear by Rodriguez and she just took it before they all got into the truck. They arrived at a red brick house, and the bottom window had smoke spewing out of it.

"Smells like a grease fire," Casey said as he got out of his truck. "We'll take the back, you get the roof for a vent just in case." he instructed as the ladder was deployed into the air. "Aldaine, come with us," Casey invited.

She looked to Kelly who just nodded with a shrug.

There was a short, stout black woman in her slippers and robe yelling obscenities at the house.

"Ma'am," Otis greeted as they walked down the path that led to the back area.

"You a little think ain't you?" she asked as they continued on their way.

Casey kicked in the door and they found a black man, standing back and looking at the relatively small fire in shock.

"Awe, this is it?" asked Otis.

"Sir you gotta clear out of here," Emma said, leading him over towards the door but he chose to sit down in a chair.

"No, no, no." he was saying grasping her arms. "I can't leave. My land lord will kill me, I got no place to go. You gotta understand this is all I have." he was pleading.

Emma looked to Casey who looked unsure. "The microwave, look," she said and they saw that the microwave was the point of ignition.

With their plan in place, they walked out with the man on Emma's shoulder as she helped him out and towards the sidewalk.

"This your place ma'am?" asked Casey.

"You damn right it is," she said bluntly.

"That microwave yours too?" asked Emma.

"Oh what of it?" the woman asked shortly as Casey looked to the man.

"Well if it wasn't for this man here, the whole place could've burnt down." Casey told her.

"He really was quite a hero," added Emma with a smile and patting him on the shoulder.

Otis came over and offered his hand, which the man took. "Just wanted to say, I've never seen a civilian act so heroically." they shook hands before everyone walked away.

Emma stood beside her truck and smiled to herself as she saw the woman give in and hug the man.

"Hey!" there was a yell from beside her, making her jump as she saw Kelly looking to Mills, the candidate who was on the ladder with an axe. "One hand on the beam candidate! I don't care if you're carrying a cow! People die when hey relax!" he shouted angrily up at the young man.

"Okay, Kelly," Casey said with a look of 'what the hell are you doing?'. "He gets it."

"Yeah he better," Kelly said and Emma looked to him and saw her look before huffing and walking away towards Dawson and Shay. She watched as he asked for a moment alone with Shay. She knew they weren't going out since she knew Shay was actually gay. But Shay handed him something, which he slipped into his pocket, but she couldn't see what.

She made sure to look the other way as Kelly turned back around and Emma decided that it was a good time to get back into the truck now.

They left shortly after and Emma was beating herself up for being so nosey towards Kelly. Not even an hour later she was told they were going to be doing their drills.

First was a simple 'retrieve the victim' with a blacked out mask, which Emma then set the new house record for. And she also set the record for being the fastest runner and lastly, another record for climbing up the side of the building with her repelling gear.

"Well, you've broken almost every record anyone has ever set so I guess I can safely say you'll do just fine," Kelly said at the end of the day and she laughed a little.

"Thanks," she said taking her hair out of it's hold. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said.

"And Saturday, I hope." he added before she left. "It's the house barbeque at Grands Park." he told Emma. "Three o'clock." he said and she nodded.

"Yeah, sure, sounds fun." she smiled before giving a small wave and leaving. "See ya,"

"Later," he said as he was left in the empty locker room.

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**A.N please review and rate! Greatly appreciated! I'll be uploading more chapters and if some updates are slower than others please be patient! Promise you I'll make this worth your while! :) **

**~Writinggurl101 **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Emma walked through the door of her small, but quaint house the same night. She was immediately greeted by the cry of her eleven month old baby girl, Isabella. Her sister Jeanine came down the hall, carrying the child, who was eagerly reaching out for her mother.

"Hello baby Izzy," cooed Emma, taking the baby into her arms and planting several kisses on her face.

"She ate already, was looking pretty tired up until now. She should go to sleep pretty soon though. How was the first day?" asked Jeanine as Emma kicked off her shoes and slid out of her coat expertly while still holding Isabella.

"Good, yeah I met everyone and they're all really nice. I gotta get Iz to daycare by seven tomorrow which is gonna be lots of fun," Emma rolled her eyes while walking to the kitchen, ready to make herself some tea.

"Well that's good that people are welcoming you in. Could be a lot worse. When I first joined in with Flare, both Mary and Camille were kind of weary about me, and I had to spend every day with them until they got to know me," Jeanine sighed as Emma poured hot water for herself. Flare by Design was the interior design company Jeanine was working at for two years now, and was now the manager of it along with one other woman. "Oh, sure thanks." nodded Jeanine when Emma gestured to the tea.

Emma laughed. "Well fortunately everyone is nice and relatively speaking good people. I mean of course they're good people..They do this for a living." she rolled her eyes at herself while Izzy babbled nonsense. "Oh yes I know Izzy, how was your day?" Emma entertained as Izzy went on. "Oh I see, well that sounds very eventful. Did you have fun with aunt J?" she smiled as she handed over a mug.

They both sat down at the table, Emma bouncing Izzy on her leg.

"Yeah, we did puzzles, and watched The Wiggles, and then we went out on a walk and we came in and had yummy creamed apples for dinner with a side of formula." laughed Jeanine as Emma chuckled.

"She really does love the apples, speaking of which I gotta go shopping this weekend. I guess I can do it Saturday, I have it off." decided Emma as her sister watched her.

Although they were sisters, they didn't look much alike. The only things they shared was their last name and skin tone. But everything else was different. Jeanine had short, auburn hair cut in a bob with warm brown eyes and a light smile. Emma's long brown hair and green eyes contrasted with her sister's looks, and often people didn't make the connection they were sisters. Friends was the word they heard quite a bit when people told them how they thought the two knew each other.

"I don't know how you do it Em. I mean really, juggling Izzy and the house and then this crazy job...I mean I find it hard with the boys and Rick is there to help me out and our house is pretty much the same price as this and we struggle sometimes.." Jeanine trailed in slight awe. "I really worry about you." her older sister said and Emma cracked a smile.

"Hey, I've been on the job almost six years now and I've been okay pretty much the whole time." Emma said and Jeanine glowered.

"You're forgetting the time where that beam fell on you, breaking two ribs and fracturing your shoulder as well as giving you a nasty bruise on your back." she said and Emma rolled her eyes.

"You know, that's not considered too bad when you're in this line of work." Emma said with a wink and Jeanine laughed a little.

"I don't care, it won't stop me, or mom, or even dad from worry. We all do you know. We're scared one day Izzy's mom isn't gonna come home." Jeanine fought back tears as Emma took her hand.

"I'm right here, okay J? I'm not going anywhere, and it will take all of God's will power to try and take me off this Earth if I'm fighting it." she smiled and Jeanine laughed.

"God, don't I know it." she shook her head.

Jeanine left shortly after, and when Emma looked down after closing the door, Izzy was still awake.

"Alright baby girl, time for a bath," Emma sighed, climbing the stairs to the bathroom.

She sat Izzy down in the bath chair, which was totally secured to the bath while it filled.

After making sure Izzy was completely clean and in fresh pyjamas, she kissed Izzy's head and laid her down in her crib, tucking the blanket around the shape of the toddler.

Emma trudged off to bed, exhausted and feeling the pain of breaking the house records catching up to her.

Emma got out the door for around six forty five, dropping Izzy right at seven at Sunshine Daycare before jetting off to the fire house.

As Emma arrived, was a commotion outside and when she walked in she found that a pretty girl named Nicki was being introduced to everyone, and then a man came walking in with a cane and everyone around her cheered. It must have been someone who got hurt and was okay now.

"Hermann!" they were all yelling.

"Candidate! Get this guy a chair, will ya?" asked Otis as Mills found one and wheeled it over to Hermann.

Hermann sat down and sighed. "Oh hey guys, have you seen my wife? Children? Are they around here?" he asked as people shook their heads.

Then Hermann popped out his right knee and was moving it just fine. He jumped out of the chair.

"It must of been my in-laws that broke me! But I'm back guys!" he cried as people cheered and Otis ran forward and bear hugged him.

"It's good to have you back Hermann." the Chief spoke, suddenly next to Emma.

"Thanks Chief," nodded Hermann.

"There's gonna be a white board session today about what happened at Dornde's' last month, I expect you all to be there." immediately Emma felt tension and awkwardness fill the air and she wondered what it was about. So after everyone dispersed, she went up to Dawson.

"Hey, so why was everyone so uncomfortable when Chief mentioned the white board session?" she asked and Dawson nodded.

"Oh right, you weren't around. Well last month, we were called to a house fire, the Dornede's. Kelly did search and rescue at the bottom floor, and Casey was on the ladder with our guy Darden, who went in through the window. They didn't vent the back, so when Darden went in the fire exploded through the top level and he...he ended up dying." Dawson explained with a tight tone. "It really messed everyone up for a while. Especially Casey and Kelly. I mean, both of them were best buds with him and Casey feels responsible for what happened and so does Kelly cause he feels like he should've stopped him I guess. It's been hard on everyone lately."

Emma nodded, concern and sympathy welling up inside her. "Yeah, obviously. God, that's gotta be hard." she sighed and then looked to Dawson. "You alright though?" she asked and Dawson smiled weakly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just hard to believe it's been a month, you know?" she asked and Emma nodded.

"We'll all be okay though. We'll be fine." she sighed and patted Dawson's shoulder before going and getting changed.

Just as Emma was pulling her hair back, the intercom rung out and they all ran to action. They arrived at a construction site. There was visible debris in the air, dust.

"What's going on?" asked the Chief to a man standing above them on a unfinished but stable structure.

"Foundation collapsed! We got three guys down there!" he called back.

"We're gonna need a two and a half up there!" Chief called back.

"On it," another crew member said as they all took to the stairs leading up to the area.

"Lets go," Kelly called back to his team.

"We were pouring concrete for the second and third storeys when the foundation just gave way," the same man explained as they all looked down to see two men under rubble.

"Lets get the two and a half up here from the ladder," commanded Chief. The crew did so. "Keep the hose coming!" he encouraged as a fire fighter brought the hose from the ladder over to them, and dropped the hose down so it dangled right before the landing where it dropped off two levels. "Charge it!" suddenly the hose inflated and Otis went down, using the hose as a pole to slide with.

Casey followed, then Kelly, and Emma after that. They went to the man closest first.

"A bit banged up but he's gonna make it," Otis told them after examining the construction worker. "We should move em."

"Dawson you down there?" asked Emma into her radio as Casey nodded in approval.

"Go for Dawson," she replied.

"We're gonna need you up here." Emma said as they started to peel away chunks of rock and rubble to find the second man.

"I'm under here!" he was calling as Kelly finally took off the last piece.

"Can you sit up?" asked Casey, helping the man a bit.

"Yeah. Peter..He was right beside me when it collapsed..There was a hole. I think he got taken down." the worker said through a grunt of pain.

Emma saw the hole, just big enough to fit maybe Casey or Kelly down, not too large. She shone her flashlight down into the darkness and saw the face of an elderly man with a nasty cut on his forehead as well as his leg was trapped under a large boulder of foundation.

"Peter?" she called down.

"Yeah," he got out. "I knew today was gonna be a bad day, I told my wife I had a premonition."

"Okay, we're gonna come get you. Are you hurt?" she asked.

"I can't breathe," he answered in a laboured voice. "Can't move."

"We'll get you out," she said solemnly before backing out and looking over to Kelly and Casey. "We're gonna need three pipe poles and a saw." she said as Casey nodded and called out the order.

She checked back in on him, this time with Casey and Kelly over her shoulder. "How you doing down there Peter?" she asked and he smiled weakly.

"I've been better." he said and she smiled a little.

"I'm going in," Kelly declared, tucking away his flashlight into his belt.

"That's unstable," Casey said and Kelly smacked him in the chest lightly.

"Aren't we all," replied Kelly, taking to the ladder and climbing down.

Casey turned to her and the others. "Widen the hole, step back in case the crease decides to shift." he told them as they started to clear some of the rubble away from the hole.

"Keep that light down here Aldaine!" Kelly called up as Emma continued to shine the light back down.

Kelly started talking to Peter, asking him if he could move his foot or so on. When feeling his ribs Peter cried out and Kelly backed off.

"Okay, okay," he said and Emma knew right away what that meant.

"Promise me one thing," Peter began. "no lies." he said.

"Fair enough." Kelly nodded before going on. "I think you're bleeding on the inside, your foot is the least of your problems." he looked up. "Tell Casey we need this hole to open up." he said and Emma did just that, looking over her shoulder.

"Casey! We need this hole to open up," she told him as he nodded.

"Go Bruce," he said as Bruce lowered a saw down and began to cut away the remaining metal.

"Don't worry," Emma said as Kelly was brushing some of the rubble off of Peter's shirt. "we'll get you back to your wife in no time."

"Yeah right," Peter rolled his eyes as Emma smiled.

"What? Are you saying I've got a bad poker face?" she asked and Peter cracked a smile.

"I'm saying I'd be all in on that one," he replied which she chuckled lightly at.

"Well you're talking and breathing, which is good." she said just as there was a shift in the foundation.

She watched Kelly cover Peter as her hand flung out to grab onto a bar of metal as support.

"Severide!" Casey yelled out.

"Yeah, we're fine. Just get Dawson over here!" Kelly yelled up to him.

"Dawson," Casey called as she came over beside Emma and looked down.

"What we got here?" she asked.

"Lower leg is trapped and there's internal bleeding." Kelly told her.

"There's no way to release it?" she asked.

"No," both Emma and Kelly said together.

"Alright, I'll call for a trauma surgeon." she nodded, getting up.

"Hey, how long?" Kelly asked, clear concern for Peter in his voice.

Dawson frowned. "I dunno," she answered, getting up and walking away.

Emma poked her head back in, making sure the light was still shining down.

"What could a trauma surgeon do that you couldn't?" asked Peter as Emma swallowed heavily, knowing already what Kelly was about to say.

After a pause Kelly said, "Take off your foot."

Peter took a moment to take it all in, as both Emma and Severide were expecting.

"What's your name?" asked Peter.

"Severide, Kelly. Everyone pretty much calls me Severide though." he answered.

"And you?" Peter looked to Emma.

"Emma Aldaine." she told him with a small tinge of sadness in her voice as she looked down on the man.

"Either of you married?" he asked as they both shook their heads.

"No," they said in unison.

"Well don't wait too long," Peter said with a shake of his head. "My wife's name is Georgie. Her dad, always wanted to have boys, got her instead." he chuckled as Aldaine and Severide cracked smiles.

"There was a barber shop on my street, called Harrison's street. Mr. Harris named it after his wife was pregnant their first, they ended up having five girls." they all laughed but then Peter's laughing cut off into chocking and he spit up blood. "Okay, okay..." Kelly said, making sure he was alright.

"Get this down to Severide, about fifteen minutes till the surgeon's here." Shay handed an IV and a needle to Emma before striding off.

"Severide!" Emma called as Kelly looked up and Emma lowered down the needle and tape.

"Find a vein and get this into him. Fifteen minutes on the surgeon," she told him.

He nodded, "Kay Aldaine." he said before turning back to Peter with the IV.

"Kelly," Peter said. "we've run out of time on a surgeon. You're gonna have to do it." Kelly shook his head slightly as Emma bit her lip. "Take off the foot. Get me out of here, get me home." Peter smiled weakly at the thought as Kelly stayed emotionless.

"Tell that surgeon to hurry the hell up!" Severide yelled up and Dawson heard, and ordered that the surgeon be helicoptered to the site if they had to.

"Negative 61, trauma surgeon is en route." the dispatch came back.

There was another shake as the foundation continued to shift. Emma held herself up as Severide covered Peter again.

"Severide! We've got to pull back, it's gonna give." Casey told him over Emma's shoulder.

"He's right," Peter nodded. "Go."

Kelly was quiet while the other two waited above. "Casey I need a Sol Saw!"

"Ralph, lower me a Sol Saw!" Casey ordered as Ralph did so.

"Peter," Kelly said as Peter opened his eyes.

"I'm still with ya Kelly. And Emma," he looked up to meet her eyes.

"Tell us about Georgie." Emma said and Peter smiled, chuckling and shaking his head.

"I married her above my head," they laughed."been playing catch up ever since."

"Have any children?" asked Emma.

"No," he shook his head. "we tried."

Just then Emma was handed the Sol Saw. "Severide," she called and he looked up to see the saw being lowered down to him.

He took it, detached the rope, and tested it out. Peter was coughing every few seconds, the dust and musky air clearly getting to his already laboured lungs. "Kelly," he said and Kelly looked to him as Peter thought for a moment. "You got a phone?" he asked.

Emma was trying hard not to cry when seeing Peter deliver his just-in-case goodbye message through Kelly's phone.

Then Emma heard it, "Aldaine! Surgeon's here!" Shay called out to her.

"Severide he's here!" she called down into the hole as Kelly started to climb up the ladder. She took his hand and helped him up. He saw her expression and smiled a little.

"He'll be fine Aldaine, don't worry." he said putting a hand on her shoulder as she shook herself out of it and nodded.

"Yeah, I know. That was just hard to hear..." she trailed as he nodded.

"Yeah, it was." he agreed before moving both himself and Aldaine out of the way of the trauma surgeon. They both took to the ladder and Kelly walked away, taking off his helmet. Emma did the same, sighing as she felt the cold air on her sweaty neck.

There was a slight _thunk _and she looked over to see Kelly had dropped his gloves, and she saw Peter's blood on them. She swallowed hard and looked to see him walking back towards the trucks.

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**A.N So what do you think so far? I thought making Emma a mom would really heighten the risks of her and Severide maybe getting together? Ooo I don't know yet! Aha please review and rate and such because I love reading them and they make it more fun to write! Thanks so much you guys!**

**~Writinggurl101**


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N I wanna say thanks to the people who have reviewed! You're awesome :) And to When I Make It Shine you pronounce Emma's last name as Al-Dane ;) I know it's a different last name but i think it sounds cool! Anyways keep reviewing guys! Here's chapter three for you! :D**

**~Writinggurl101**

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Chapter 3

When they arrived back at the station, there was a family of kids and a mother, who Emma found out belonged to Hermann. The kids were holding out a banner that said thank you to the EMT's for saving their dad. Emma thought it was really sweet. But she couldn't help but notice Kelly just stand there, kind of in a trance by it, before sneaking off and leaving.

She decided not to go after him because she knew he was probably still thinking about Peter, and also the white board meeting that was going to be happening in just a few minutes.

And sure enough, they all met up in the board room. There was an instructor at the front, explaining how if the vent had been cut off in the back, the fire never would have made it upstairs, therefore eliminating the risk of one of their own guys being taken out.

Emma was right by the door, and watched as Kelly crossed the back area, brushed past her, and left the room.

"Kelly," the Chief said, but it was too late and he was gone.

As soon as the meeting was done, Emma went out looking for Kelly but came up empty.

They sat around playing cards for a while, and then Kelly appeared. Emma excused herself from the game and went to get some coffee like Kelly.

"Hey," she said and he looked up.

"Hi," he said and she looked to him.

"Are you gonna go show Peter's wife the message he left?" she asked him and he nodded.

"Yeah," he said.

"Oh, alright. That's good, I guess." she said, not sure how to continue on the subject.

"You're gonna come with me, right?" he asked and she raised her brows.

"Oh, I wasn't trying to get you to ask me-" she started but he shook his head.

"It's fine Emma," he said and she liked the sound of him saying her first name. "I think you should. You were there the whole time too. Makes sense." he shrugged as she nodded.

"Sure, thanks." she said with a small smile. "He was a great guy..." she trailed as Kelly just nodded a bit. "So that story about the barber shop and the street, that really happened?" she asked as they both laughed.

"Yeah it did." he nodded. "Irony's funny that way." he smiled as did she.

"Yeah, my mom always said she never wanted a dog that shed. Nothing big or furry or anything like that. And she just happens to come across this puppy, lying in the street, all by itself with no owner or anything. So she brings it home," Emma leaned against the counter with her coffee as Severide leaned on the one opposite her. "and we take care of it and then what does it grow into but a husky, malamute mix. Which are," she was laughing and shaking her head. "the biggest, furriest dogs you could combine."

They both laughed as Severide took a sip of his coffee. "Still have the dog?" he asked and she nodded.

"His name's Ace, he's about seven now...Getting up there." she said, sipping her coffee.

"Yeah, I had a dog named Bruno when I was little. He was responsible for all the stress in my house cause he was constantly getting himself into trouble." Kelly smirked. "I'll never forget the time he went into our neighbour's yard, locked himself in the green house, and then tore his way out of it, and spilling this giant bag of fertilizer at the same time."

"Hey," Otis nudged Casey who was looking at his hand of cards.

Casey looked up and followed Otis' gaze which led him to see Emma and Kelly laughing while holding their coffee. "Well look at that...Kelly's got a crush." he smirked and Otis frowned.

"He better not, Aldaine is all mine." he said and Casey laughed.

"In your world maybe." Casey said with another laugh as Hermann joined in.

"You think he'll ask her to the barbeque? I don't think she knows it's happening." he said and Casey shook his head.

"No clue...But I haven't seen Kelly that happy with a girl he's just met since Michelle."

Michelle was Kelly's fiancee three years back. He came home and found her things packed up, the ring on the table, and a note saying she couldn't be married to someone who was risking their lives everyday. Kelly hadn't ever been the same with girls since.

_Well not until now. _Thought Casey looking at the two. The laughing had stopped more now, and they were still in conversation, but the odd laugh or chuckle would pop up every now and again.

"So, are you planning on going to the barbeque?" asked Kelly and Emma raised her brows.

"Barbeque?" she asked and he nodded, and pointed to one of the posters which advertised the event.

"Happens every year. Two o'clock at Smiths Park." Kelly said and she nodded.

"Oh, well I wasn't planning on it, but yeah I guess I should go." she said. "You going?" she asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, I'm on grill duty." he told her and she laughed.

"Well that worries me," she said and looked to her with a confused look.

"Why?" he asked and she smirked and shrugged casually.

"I don't know. The idea of you cooking meat on a grill. I don't know how good a cook you really are..." she trailed and he smirked back and looked to her with something in his eyes. Emma wasn't sure what to call it...Maybe cunning. But as he looked to her that way he said,

"Well I assure you, I am an excellent cook. Especially when it comes to grilling." he said sure of himself and she nodded, still sceptic.

"Alright, well I'll believe it when I taste it." she said and he nodded.

"Well don't worry, cause you will." he said with one last gulp of his coffee.

Shift ended and Emma peeled off her clothes tiredly in the locker room. She heard the door open.

"Oh, sorry." she heard the voice of Kelly behind her as she pulled on her shirt.

"Don't worry about it," she said humoured and turning around. She let out her hair and tousled it with her hand. "You heading out?" she asked and he shook his head.

"Not quite yet, I have to get some reports back to Chief." he said and she nodded.

"Fun," she said and he nodded with a laugh.

"Yeah." he agreed and opened his locker, and she saw he grimaced.

"You alright?" she asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, fine. Just an old injury popping up. It's nothing." he said as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"You should get that checked out," she told him as he nodded dismissively.

"Sure, sure," he mumbled as she laughed at his tone.

"Well I'll see you tomorrow," she said walking past him.

"And Saturday too, I hope." he said and she smirked, looking over her shoulder.

"Of course, you gotta past my test." she said with a wink and he nodded.

"I'll prepare myself," he called to her as she was leaving.

"Good idea," she called back before he heard the door close entirely, leaving him to his own thoughts.

Emma left and picked up Isabella from daycare and drove home and unloaded Isabella and her things tiredly. Putting Isabella in her play pen, she made dinner for herself in the kitchen while also making some formula for Izzy. She plopped her baby into her high chair before getting out some sweet pea and carrot baby food for her. While eating her dinner, she told Izzy about her day while feeding her at the same time.

Emma knew how incredibly pointless this was. Talking to her child that didn't even know common words like 'momma' or 'dada'. But it made her feel better. She could vent all her feelings to the one person she knew, didn't care, didn't know what they were saying, and didn't judge her.

"And you know what sweetie? There's this very nice man named Kelly at my work. He's very very attractive. I mean, he's super model gorgeous and he works at the same fire house I do. I was down in this hole today, trying to help a man named Peter, and Kelly stayed with him the whole way up until the doctor came. The sweetest part was though, is that Kelly told me things would be okay, and then he took off his gloves." Emma explained to the child who was still gumming down her food. "Now I know you don't think that means much, hell, none of this means anything to you, but it was kind of symbolizing he was done; done trying. So even though he was feeling terrible about the whole thing, he still told me it was going to be okay." she smiled with a girly laugh. "And he invited me to this barbeque you and I are going to. I hope he likes kids, because if he doesn't," she rose from her seat and cleared up her dishes. "We're going to have a problem." she dumped the dishes in the sink and turned to her child who was looking at her with big green-blue eyes, full of question and wonder. "Alright miss, time for bed." she said, scooping Izzy up into her arms. Emma kissed her soft brown hair gently before carrying her up into Izzy's bedroom, where after being changed, she was laid down to sleep.

The next day both Emma and Izzy slept in. Izzy was awake for part of the night, so in giving up, they both fell asleep in Emma's bed and woke up around ten. Emma was lazy that morning, being extra slow with everything. She and Izzy had a long bubble bath which was followed by eating pancakes and watching The Wiggles which Izzy thoroughly enjoyed because she squealed several times and was bouncing around. Izzy was already sitting up and crawling all over, which provided a lot of exercise for Emma when she wasn't at work.

Emma saw it was nearing noon, and decided that she should change.

So setting Izzy on her bed with a rubber key chain of toys, she opened her drawers and closets and looked for something suitable.

She finally settles on a white floral dress which hugged her slim shape. Despite having Izzy less than a year ago, she quickly lost the baby fat in the month she used to prepare herself to go back to work. People asked her why she did it so soon; went back to work. And the reason was not because she didn't want to be around her baby, it was because she felt that she had to go out there and save other people's babies.

She dressed Izzy in a cute pink dress and tights with little white shoes and a flower headband.

"You are the cutest thing that has ever been on this planet, you know that?" cooed Emma, kissing Izzy's cheek and taking her into her arms before exiting her room. "We're gonna make some pies Iz!" enthused Emma as she took the dough she had made already from the fridge out. She made the filling of apples and blackberries as Izzy bounced and babbled in her high chair. The pies baked in twenty minutes, which Emma used to find Izzy's stroller and put it in the car which took much longer than needed because she kept on forgetting things. But finally getting back inside, the pies were done. She loaded them into a cooler and put them in before setting Izzy in the car seat.

Emma left and it was just nearing ten minutes to two. She arrived at Smiths park right on time, and after wrestling with her stroller, was able to get Izzy in it hassle free. She slung the cooler over her shoulder easily and walked towards the picnic tables and grills where she saw familiar faces of fifty one.

Casey saw Emma coming across the grass and just shrugged it off. But then he looked back and saw she was pushing a stroller.

"Hey, guys," he turned to his truck crew. "Emma has a stroller with her." he said and everyone turned to see.

"You really think she's doing this job and being a mom too? A single mom at that." Dawson added.

"It's possible," Shay shrugged.

"Severide's gonna wanna know that," Otis said with a hint of mischief.

"Ten bucks says it's her niece or nephew," Hermann began betting and Casey smirked.

"Fine, I'll go with that. I think it's her kid." he said and they shook on it.

"Well you guys better shut up about it cause she's right here," Dawson muttered.

"Hey guys," Emma smiled as Dawson and Shay went over to hug her. Emma did her rounds of saying hello and Shay looked down to the baby.

"And who's this?" she asked and Emma immediately smiled.

"This is Izzy," she lifted the child out of her seat. "my precious little girl." she said kissing her daughter's head.

Izzy had her fist in her mouth as onlookers ogled at the pure cuteness Isabella withheld.

"Can I hold her?" asked Dawson carefully as Hermann slid money across the table to Casey who smirked.

"Sure," Emma handed Izzy over with ease and Dawson took the child into her arms.

"Hey baby girl," she cooed as Shay stroked her hair.

"She's so cute," Shay said with a smile and Emma laughed.

"Don't let it fool you, she can throw one hell of a fit," people laughed. "but yeah. She's beautiful." she looked and saw Kelly at the grill, sipping beer. She spotted a cooler not far from him and used it as an excuse. "I'm just gonna go grab a drink. Oh yeah," she set the cooler on the table. "I baked pies. They're still warm so help yourself." she said as the men opened it eagerly and got to work cutting it. Emma laughed a bit. "Think you guys will be okay here?" she asked and now Izzy was in Casey's arms, and he looked completely overjoyed at her presence.

"Oh yeah, we'll be fine, hey Izzy?" asked Casey as Emma laughed.

"I'll be back," she said and walked over to the ice tub of beer. "Hey," she greeted Severide.

"Hey, you made it." he said and she smiled with a nod.

"Yup, I managed to fit it into my totally crammed schedule." she said with a wink.

He nodded. "Well I'm glad you found time to squeeze this in." he said. "What's going on over there?" he asked and she looked to see his gaze set on the table where everyone was fussing over Izzy.

"Do you have a minute?" she asked and he looked to her, curiosity in his eyes at her odd question.

"Sure.." he trailed, coming out from around the table and walking over to the table with her.

"Stop it! That's making it worse!" Dawson scolded Otis who was trying to rock a crying Izzy.

"Oh good! You're here!" Shay gushed, who took Izzy from Otis and handed her right to Emma.

"Hey baby, shh, it's okay," she cooed, tucking Izzy's head into her neck and bouncing slightly.

"See?" asked an annoyed Dawson. "That's how you console a baby. Not shaking it."

Otis glared at her. "Well I'm sorry I didn't go to mothering school," he said and Kelly looked to Emma.

Emma bit her lip and jerked her head over to the open lawn. "I forgot my drink," she said and Kelly took that as his cue to follow her.

"So, you have a baby," Kelly said and she laughed a little.

"Yeah. This is Isabella. We usually call her Izzy though." she told him. Emma was trying to keep her tone light as she saw the sun shining off of Kelly's bare skin. He was wearing a wife beater and it looked more than good on him.

Izzy had stopped crying now, and straightened up to look over to Kelly with her big eyes. He laughed at the sight of the questioning child. "Well she definitely looks like you," he said. "If you don't mind my asking, what happened to her dad?" he asked and Emma sighed.

"When he found out I was pregnant he wanted out right away but stayed for some reason," Emma even now sounded confused by her former fiancee's act. "I mean you expect that when someone proposes to you that their in for all of it. And Chris sounded like he was, and then as soon as it was real he flipped. He stayed for about a month, but we were fighting so much about it I just said that if he wanted to leave so badly like he was saying, then to go." she shrugged as Kelly watched her gaze which was still fixed straight ahead as they walked.

"And then he did the whole 'I'm sorry' thing. But I just couldn't hear it. I took all his stuff, loaded it into some trash bags, threw them on the porch, shoved him on the porch, and told him to get the hell out or I'd beat his ass." she smirked while Kelly laughed.

"Funny thing is is that I believe you. Pretty sure he would too," he said with a smile and she nodded.

"Like hell he believed me. He knew that if I was strong enough to carry full grown men out of fires, I was obviously strong enough to hurt a full grown man." she said before sighing.

"I'm sorry about him leaving," Kelly said as she picked up her beer off the table, and took a sip while shrugging.

"Don't be. It was a while ago," she said and he nodded, accepting that.

"Well he was stupid for wanting out of something like this," he smiled down at Izzy.

Emma laughed lightly. "Yeah...Wanna hold her?" she asked him, looking up into his greyish blue eyes which were then wide.

"What?" he asked but Emma was already placing Izzy in his arms. "Oh no, Emma," he was saying but Izzy was already situated in his hold.

"Look at that," she smiled. "You're doing just fine," she said looking up to him as he looked down at Izzy.

"She really is something," he mumbled as Emma nodded with a smile. "Hey Izzy," he bounced her lightly, just like Emma was doing earlier, but without needing to think about it.

"Well one thing's for sure, you're a lot better with her than Otis," she laughed as did Kelly.

"I'm better at a lot of things than Otis," he added and she smirked.

"A lot of people are," she joined in as they laughed again.

Emma stroked Izzy's cheek, and Izzy captured her mom's finger in her little hand and waved it around while spouting off nonsense. "Oh yes Izzy, that's very interesting." Emma nodded as she went on. Severide watched the motherly side of Emma come out and he couldn't help but think what a beautiful mom she was. "Really?" she asked. Then Izzy suddenly screamed out in a happy tone with big eyes, causing both Emma and Kelly to start laughing. "Oh wow, that really does sound crazy Iz," she laughed.

"She's quite the talker." Kelly said and she smiled.

"You have no idea, I'll be making dinner and she'll be in her pen, talking away..." she trailed with a noticeable caring tone.

"Must get that from her mom," Kelly said with a smirk.

"Are you calling me a chatter box?" she asked and he shrugged.

"Your words not mine," he said which earned him a smack in the shoulder from Emma.

"Kelly!" she exclaimed as he snickered. Izzy joined in with the laughing and he looked down in amusement.

"Yeah, aren't I right Iz? Of course I am. I'm always right." Kelly said as Izzy continued laughing.

"Uhm, no. He's not. He isn't ever right Iz, don't trust him." Emma said with a smirk as he looked to her sternly.

"Watch your mouth Emma, this is your lieutenant you're talking to here," he reminded and she smiled playfully.

"Well, seeing as no one's working today, I'm not talking to you as my lieutenant. I'm talking to you as Kelly Severide, civilian." she said and he nodded with a amused look.

"Well then I guess I'm talking to you as Emma Aldaine, mother, civilian, and annoyance."

Emma shot him a look and hit his shoulder again. "Shut up..."

Kelly snickered again.

"Well would you look at that," Hermann said loudly, calling the table to look at him.

Everyone looked to see Emma, Kelly and baby Izzy all standing across the yard.

"If you didn't know you'd think they were a family." Casey said as people nodded.

"Have you seen Severide like this before? I mean holding babies, thinking about other people and planning on staying with a girl for more than one night?" asked Otis with a smirk. "I swear, the guy's whipped."

He was immediately smacked upside the head by Hermann.

"Hey! Just because he likes a lady and her kid _does not _make him whipped. It means he's a good guy." Hermann said firmly as Otis still smirked, hiding it from him.

"They'd be cute together," Shay said, tilting her head and watching the two. "And it was nice while it lasted. Look who showed up," she said bitterly.

Everyone watched as Nicki crossed the field to where they were. They exchanged hellos before Emma just nodded and was handed back Izzy from Kelly. Then Emma walked away, Nicki moved in, and Kelly looked sort of disappointed that he wasn't with the others.

Emma was now getting herself some lunch while Kelly and Nicki were still talking.

She returned to the table, all smiles and seemingly unbothered by what had happened.

They all carried on conversations, and Emma met Hallie before she started to feed not only herself but Izzy too.

But Emma saw, not raising any attention, that Kelly cut it off with Nicki and was now walking towards the table which had cleared out a bit. Dawson had gone to see the kids play, Shay and Corine had left, Hallie was still around after saying hi to the Darden family with Casey, Hermann was seeing his family with Otis, and Dawson's date, the doctor, had left.

Leaving just Hallie, Izzy, and Emma at the table.

Emma saw that Hallie was watching Casey and Dawson talking with great interest but pretended not to notice. Kelly saw down beside Emma.

"Well how was that?" she asked him and he looked to her.

"Huh? Oh, Nicki...It was nothing. She's nice I guess." he shrugged and she nodded.

"What time is it? I've gotta grab groceries," Emma was searching for her phone but Kelly was wearing his watch.

"It's almost four. You know I'm going to grab some too," he said and she laughed just as Hallie excused herself.

"Why does it sound like you're almost trying to go out on a grocery date with me?" she asked him with a blush on her cheeks, and he shook his head.

"I honestly do. Shay's been bugging me for the last week and a half to grab some. And if I don't do it now she'll have my ass. Besides, carrying a huge load of food and Iz doesn't sound easy." he said looking to the toddler as Emma nodded.

"I'll admit, it does take some skill, but it's okay. Really, you don't have to come. It isn't very fun anyways." Emma said and he nodded.

"Don't worry, I know. And I'm sure it'll be even more boring with you going on and on...But I feel like i should do it because it's the right thing," he said and she gasped and glared at him.

"Have I ever mentioned how incredibly irritating I find you?" she asked and he smirked.

"No, but I'll take that as a compliment." he said and she shook her head while packing up Izzy's food.

"Well don't." she replied with a clearly light bitter tone.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After getting packed up they said their goodbyes and left for the Thirfty's just down the road in their desired vehicles. Getting out they made their way in together, taking different carts.

"You know she isn't as winy as babies are put out to be," Kelly said looking down at Izzy who was sitting in the child seat, her legs hanging over the edge.

"She's great. I was expecting that too, the whole screaming and crying and never shutting up from her...But she doesn't cry that much. Sleeps well, and with the right food she's fine." Emma told him as they picked food off the shelves.

"Pop tarts?" asked Kelly when he looked into her cart. He saw she was smiling sheepishly and blushing.

"What can I say? I have a few guilty pleasures." she said without meeting his eyes.

"I can see that," he agreed as she dropped a box or chocolate into her cart as well.

"Don't judge me Severide," she said turning to glare at him while he grabbed some cans of soup, as did Emma.

"It's not judging," he defended as they tossed in their items and moved along. "it's simply observing and commenting." he said and she laughed, covering her mouth in shock at his defence.

"Well you can keep your observing and commenting to yourself. I know that might be a little hard for you seeing as you think everyone cares about what you think," Emma began as she picked some bread off a shelf. "but really, in reality, no one cares." she smirked as Kelly turned around.

"You're gonna regret those words Aldaine," he said with dark humour. "You will, trust me," he assured as she nodded with clear scepticism.

"Alright, I'll hold you to it Severide," she smirked before going down the dairy aisle.

Their constant bickering went on back and forth, and mixed in was some normal chatter.

Severide found out a little more of how Emma started out and she the same thing.

"So, you and Andy did it together?" she asked gently as they walked down the spice aisle. "The whole firefighter thing?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it was our dream since we were kids. We got there and then we met Casey...I know it seems like we hate each other, and I kind of do, but we started out as genuine friends." he told her.

"Why do you still hate him now?" she asked as she put a few spices into her cart and Kelly just watched, arms folded on the bar of his cart.

"Because he was right there. He was right there with Andy, and we told him not to let him go through the window, but Andy did anyways and things looked okay...But Casey should've known there wouldn't be any way Andy could get out alive," Kelly shook his head. "He shouldn't have let him through."

Emma took a moment to process this before she turned back to him, and this time he was loading some fruit into his cart. "Well it sounds to me like Andy was the kind of person that did whatever he wanted to, despite what other people told him," she said it almost as question.

"Completely." Severide nodded.

"And since he was that way there was no possible chance at stopping him. It was an accident Kelly," she, in using his first name got his attention and he looked to her. "An accident is when no one is at fault. And that's what's happening here. It wasn't anyone's fault. I bet even if Casey told him to hold off, to wait, Andy would want to go ahead and do it anyway. And he probably would have too." she explained to him, adjusting the blanket that was around Izzy. "So no one needs to be blaming anyone. I know, believe me I _know _, how easy it is to blame someone. It's better that way. Because then it holds you off from finding out that there really was nothing anyone could do. That in the end it came down to what kind of person Andy was, and how much he wanted to stop that fire." Kelly had been looking down, but when Emma stepped forward and put a hand on his arm he looked into her eyes. "Don't blame yourself, or Casey, or anyone. It doesn't change what happened. You can't let one moment hang over your head forever." she said with a gentle tone, and her eyes reflected just the same.

He smiled a little. "That's good advice," he said and she smiled back, looking away as she took her hand away. "Thanks," he said and she nodded.

"Sure." she replied before they fell back into the same chatter.

Severide learned of the large family Emma had, consisting of five other siblings. Three sisters and two brothers and herself. He made a joke about how Izzy would always have someone to look after her and Emma just agreed.

Emma found out that it was Kelly and his brother Mark but he lived in a city called Sparwood about two cities over with his expecting wife while his parents still lived in the area. He spoke of his mother, but kept the description of his dad brief, and it sounded as if there was some tension between the father and son, but Emma left it alone.

They went through the checkout, and the cashier commented on Izzy's sleeping figure.

"You two have a beautiful little girl," she said and both Emma's and Kelly's heads shot up.

"Oh no, she's not our-"

"We're not together like that-"

"We're you know,"

"Just friends." they finished together.

The cashier laughed. "Sorry, my mistake." she handed the last of the bags to Kelly. "Have a nice night." she smiled.

Emma bit her lip while walking out. "Well that was sufficiently awkward." she said, stopping at her car and opening the door while Kelly held the cart and she got Izzy inside into her car seat.

"No kidding," he agreed. "We don't-we don't look like a couple do we?" he asked and she shook her head immediately.

"No, no way. Just friends." she said, closing Izzy's door and opening the trunk.

"Exactly." he said handing her some bags to put into the back. "I mean, why do people just automatically assume that because you're out grocery shopping with your friend and kid that they're all a family?" he asked with a laugh, and Emma joined him.

"I know, like really..It's possible you could just be my gay best friend." she said with a shrug as he laughed.

"Oh God, I would like to see the faces on people at fifty one if I just said it. 'Hey guys, I'm gay!'" he exclaimed as Emma laughed, leaning on the trunk as she closed it.

"I think Hermann would have an aneurism." she smirked. "I think everyone would suffer from something along those lines." she said as she shivered from the now drizzling rain.

Kelly looked up to the sky and then back down at her. She looked to him, a little confused but shrugged it off. "Here, I'll come help you." she said, directing the cart towards his truck.

Kelly caught up with her. "But what about Iz?" he asked.

"She sleeps through anything, and I can see the car from here. She's fine." Emma smiled reassuringly.

"But still," Kelly went on. "I can do it just fine by myself." he said and Emma smirked.

"I'm sure you can Kelly, I don't doubt that. But seeing as you helped me and have been helping me practically all day, how about you let me pay you back and hand me your car keys?" she asked holding out her palm.

Kelly thought about it. "Fine, but no way am I giving you my keys," he said, taking the jingling objects from his coat pocket.

Emma looked to him, offended. "Ugh, and what is that supposed to mean?" she asked him trying to hide her smile as he brought the tailgate down.

"It means," Kelly started as they loaded the bags in. "that I don't trust you with my truck."

"Oh is this thing your baby? Is that it?" she asked him with a roll of her eyes.

"Maybe, maybe not. Doesn't matter. Looks nice, girls like it, and I like it. So I wanna keep it that way." he said simply.

She scoffed looking to him with a 'seriously?' expression. "Well what if I told you I don't like trucks?" she asked. "Wouldn't that throw off your little equation of 'truck equals girls liking me'?" she asked him.

"Well," he looked her over. "you don't qualify."

"Excuse me?" she asked as he started slipping out of his coat.

"You don't qualify because a girl doesn't deserve to stand in the rain in a pretty dress." he said in a charming tone, going around Emma and putting the jacket over her shoulders, which was far too big for her form.

"You know Kelly Severide, your tricks may work on other girls, but not me." she said with a sure tone as he smirked when she looked him in the eye.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. You can stand here and act like you're all charming and cute but it won't work. Not on me. Nothing like that can be pulled on Emma Aldaine." she said with a smirk as he chuckled.

"Anything else I say not true?" he asked. "I mean, according to you..." he trailed crossing his arms after putting the tailgate up.

"Yeah actually," she said and her right hand was in the pocket of his jacket as she brought it out and held up his keys. "You said you'd never give me your keys." she said as he laughed.

"That's a good one," he said, going to grab the keys but she moved them out of the way. "Come on, give them back." he said as she laughed.

"No." she said.

"Emma," he said.

"Kelly," she replied in the same light, but serious tone.

"Fine." he shrugged. "I'll just walk home, without my groceries, jacket, keys, and pride." he said, turning on his heel.

Emma thought he was joking and that he'd turn around. But he didn't he kept on walking.

"What?" she asked herself. "Severide!" she called out as he turned around.

She wheeled the cart over to the cart port and shoved it under the tent.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked. "You're an idiot you know. You're gonna get yourself sick." she said as he smirked.

"Oh look, she cares." he said as she sighed.

"Whatever, okay? You want your stupid keys, here they are. Take them." she said and tossed him his way, and Kelly caught them firmly in his grasp.

"Thank you," he smiled sweetly as she rolled her eyes and walked to her.

"Bye Kelly," she said as he stopped her.

"Uh no, I'll be following you home." he said as she laughed and looked over her shoulder.

"What? Are you stalking me? Is that what you do with the girls who reject you?" Emma asked him as he shook his head.

"I just need my jacket back." he said. "And it doesn't look like you're ready to give it back." he said with a half smile as she blushed, and brought the jacket closer around her.

It smelled like him. He was everywhere when wearing this jacket.

"You're right. Follow me out," she said, turning to get into her car as he walked to his truck.

Kelly did so, following Emma's car as it wound through the streets to her house. Pulling into the driveway, she got Izzy out ahead of time and opened the door. She took Izzy out of the carrier and into her bed upstairs. By that time, Kelly had already wandered towards the door, taking the path as he did so.

Emma was just coming out of the door as he reached it. "Nice place," he said. "How are you affording it though?" he asked as she looked to him. "I mean, I know what a firefighter's wage can get you. And it isn't this." he chuckled as Emma smiled a bit.

"Yeah, this place is pretty good. My parents have been paying a bit of the rent as well, so it isn't too bad when everything comes down to it." she told him as they walked back outside.

Emma opened her trunk and took two bags while Kelly took four.

Emma flicked lights on as she went, and kicked toys out of the way so they had a clear path to the kitchen. They loaded all the bags onto the counter, Emma huffing and turning away to head back out.

"Still not too unpacked I see," Kelly said as they exited the house again, seeing some boxes piled up against the wall with labels like 'kitchen decor' and 'bathroom stuff'.

Emma sighed. "Yeah, don't remind me. I never find the time to do it. I mean, the only time Izzy's ever really not with me is at daycare, which is when I'm at work." she rolled her eyes. "So right now, unpacking is way down the list of things I have time for." She got the last of the bags out and closed the trunks, watching as Kelly walked through the door, almost as if it was his own.

"Ah, I'm sure the time will pop up soon," he said with a reassuring tone.

"I hope you're right, cause those boxes have been driving me crazy lately..." she trailed, shaking her head as her curls bounced slightly.

She got to putting things away in cabinets and shelves while Kelly cluelessly tried to manoeuvre his way around the unfamiliar area. Emma helped him, chuckling at his failed attempts. When they were done Emma flicked the kettle on, Kelly looked to her and she shrugged.

"At least stay for tea. Then you'll be able to go and be rid of me," she said with a laugh as he smiled a bit.

But he thought, w_hat if I don't wanna be rid of you quite yet?_

Kelly noticed that Emma kept his jacket on the whole time, even when they were inside and she was making tea while he looked at the family photos. He could see her sisters, two of them didn't look like her while one shared some resemblance. Emma and her mother looked the most alike though. Her brother's were young, late teens to early twenties at most while her sister's were older, maybe late twenties or early thirties. Her mom and dad looked to be around in their fifties or sixties, although they were healthy for their age.

"I don't know why I don't look like them either," Emma came up beside him as he stared at a photo which had Emma and her two sisters which she stood apart from. She gave him a lopsided smile and handed him his tea, which he took.

"Thanks," he said and she shrugged.

"Sure," she said looking back to the photo.

"You know, being the youngest sister I was always inheriting the hand me downs and tips," she laughed and rolled her eyes. "Weren't those the good days..." she sighed. "What about you?" she asked him. "Was your childhood with your brother like that?"

Kelly shrugged, not really sure what to say. He and his brother had a good relationship to be fair, but their childhood... "Was just normal." Kelly said after a moment. "Nothing too special. Mark was the really smart one who was in honours and went off to law school," he explained. "I was never really the book type. The action was what I wanted. Sports was my thing."

Emma chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I can totally see you as the dumb jock," she said with a smirk as he shot her a look.

"Oh really? Alright, well then what were you in school?" he asked as she tilted her head, thinking over her answer.

"I dunno, middle class." she said as he scoffed.

"Mhm," he said with a roll of his eyes and she hit him in the arm, almost spilling his tea. "I would place you more in the book club to debate team area..." he said as she laughed.

"Yeah right! You Kelly Severide, are way off." she said with a smirk. "I was head of the yearbook committee, got straight A's and was the captain of my volleyball team. I was also dating the lacrosse captain which every girl would practically swoon over," she said, proud of herself and adding a teasing tone at the end when mentioning the previous boyfriend.

She sighed and then shook her head. "But you know, it really doesn't matter who you were in school once you get out," she said with a tinge of sadness. "Wearing the best clothes, and dating the popular guy doesn't cut it when you're in the real world. Mind you, if it's a rich popular guy you go out with you can be set for life." she pointed out as he laughed, walked back towards the table and taking a seat.

"Yeah, it doesn't feel that long ago that Andy and I were fresh out of high school and going into the academy together." Severide said looking back on the past as Emma sat down across from him, crossing her legs and leaning on the table with her elbows, taking another tentative sip from her mug. "It was just our dream...Always." he said with a sad look.

"Hey," she nudged his calf from under the table to get him to look at her. "I hope you don't think that if you and Andy didn't go to the academy that all of this would have been avoided." she said.

Kelly shook his head and laughed without humour. "I ran into his wife Heather at the coffee shop, and she told me that Andy never even would have been a firefighter if it wasn't for me." he told Emma as she sighed.

"Exactly. He wouldn't have. And he also wouldn't have made the friends, or memories, or saved those many people if he didn't have you." she said to him as Kelly met her gaze. "Kelly he saved a lot of people by the sounds of it. I don't want this to come across in the wrong way, but I think that with Andy leaving..he was able to save so many others." she said to him and Kelly just nodded.

"Yeah..I know." he said and she shook her head.

"Well that doesn't sound very convincing." she said rolling her eyes as he chuckled a little before taking another swig. Emma decided to move on. "So Nicki seems to have take a liking to you," she said while Kelly rolled his eyes, setting his cup down.

"She's okay, I guess." he said as she laughed and looked to the ceiling.

"Just 'okay'? Well the poor girl deserves more than that," she said with a smirk and Kelly rolled his eyes, taking another sip to avoid Emma's gaze. "But really...She seems very smitten by your tall dark and handsomeness." she said teasing him.

He looked to her. "So you think I'm tall, dark and handsome do you?" he asked and she blushed, laughing.

"Kelly you give yourself too much flattery. Really, it isn't good for your already big ego." she said as he gaped at her, shock in his eyes.

"Are you serious?" he asked her as she laughed, turning away and covering her mouth. "Well I see how it is." he said before looking down into his mug. "Ah," he tipped it towards her so she could see it was empty. "it's all gone."

"Indeed it is," she said with a nod. "So's mine." she said showing him her empty mug bottom. Kelly stood up. "I guess that's my cue to leave then, isn't it?" he asked as she stood as well.

"I guess," she agreed, taking the mugs to the sink. She turned to face him. "I'll walk you out," she said with a small nod to herself.

They walked down the hall together, and she opened the door and stepped out as did Kelly. "Well, thanks for all your help today." she said with a light smile. "Means a lot." she said as he shrugged.

"Whatever I can do to help," he said carefree. "I really didn't mind helping out a pretty girl though," he said, slightly leaning in towards her. "But I'm gonna need my jacket back though..." he said with a glance down to the fabric.

Emma sighed. "I know." she said but didn't make any move to take it off. Kelly was still so close to her, and she smiled sadly. "You know we can't do this Kelly," she said as his brows pulled together in slight confusion. "We..." she laughed. "We work together. And if things were to go South one of us would have to leave because of how awkward we would feel and then-" she stopped herself. "It just wouldn't work."

He shrugged, accepting her point. "Sure, that could happen. But you never know until you try." he said, leaning in more and that's when she put a hand on his warm chest.

Her eyes went to her hand and she smoothed out the fabric of his shirt carefully. "I want to Kelly," she blushed at her own words. "Believe me, I do." she looked up to meet his gaze.

"Then do it." he said and she sighed.

"It's not that simple." she shook her head as he looked at her.

"Then what is it that makes it so complicated?" he asked and he could tell how torn Emma was feeling.

"I just-Everything! Everything makes this more and more difficult to do." she said and he took her hands from his chest and held it as she looked away.

"Emma, come on. We're good together. You know it, I know it, I'm pretty sure everyone else at the barbeque saw it too." he said with a small smile at the thought. "Lets just please try." he said and she finally looked over to him.

She slipped out of his jacket, her hand being pulled from Kelly's grasp. "Just let me think on it." she said, pushing his jacket onto his firm chest. She hadn't moved her hand, so Kelly held the jacket over hers.

"That's not a no." he said with a sly smirk.

"And it's not a yes either," she reminded as he shrugged carelessly.

"You know you can't resist my charms." he said with a grin as they both laughed. The sound faded away into the night as she looked up to him.

"Goodnight Severide," she leaned up, making sure Kelly didn't try anything, and pressed her lips to his sculpted cheek bone gently.

She stepped back down and walked in through her door. "Goodnight," he replied as she smiled and closed the door.

Severide sighed and turned on his heel towards his truck. His head was clouded with thoughts of Emma on his drive home and even when he walked through his.

"Hey ladies man," Shay greeted from the couch. "How was your day with your new family?" she asked as he dropped his keys into the small dish by the door.

"Please," he rolled his eyes. "She needed some help with errands, I was just helping out." he said, going to the fridge and grabbing himself a beer.

"It would be hard with a kid and all," Shay agreed. "Speaking of which, she looks _good _for having a baby. I mean like, hella good." she shook her head. "Wonder how she lost all the baby weight..." she trailed as Kelly sighed.

"Well you think on that Shay, I'm gonna go to bed." he said and bent over the back of the couch to plant a kiss on the top of her head.

* * *

**A.N Okay so there was chapter 4! Thanks to the people who have reviewed already! I wanna hear your input so don't stop! ;) Next few chapters will be up soon guys! Thanks so much! **

**~Writinggurl101**


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